The Proposal
by KM2000
Summary: Finally, after over a year of dating, Lyell screws up the courage to propose to Amy Jones.


A/N: Here's another story to add to the Charlie Bone fanfiction archive. ;) I really wanted to write something about Amy and Lyell, and this fic came together. As always, reviews would be very welcome.

The Proposal

Lyell Bone had never felt as nervous and filled with anticipation as he did now. After all those months of dating, it had come down to this. It was really happening. He was going to do it—he was going to ask Amy to be his wife.

He had called Amy and asked her to meet him in the cathedral at dusk; she had agreed. She would be there soon—the sky outside was dark enough that it had to be close to dusk by now. And then he would ask her… and hope with all of his heart that she would accept.

He had been almost mad with the fear that she wouldn't. Paton had told him not to worry, that of course Amy would want to marry him—after all, she loved him! Anyone who saw them both together could see that. But still, the doubts remained. His family was very strict, and unusual—perhaps too unusual for Amy's liking. What if she couldn't accept the reality of there being people with magical powers living here in the city? He had already told her, but seeing it with one's own eyes was much more shocking than hearing about it. There were already so many people in the city who were uncomfortable at the knowledge that there were endowed children of the Red King; he didn't want Amy to become one of them.

And there was also the matter of _how_ they would get married. His family had already made it plain that they would not stand by and let him marry an unendowed girl, at least not where they could prevent it. The only way for them to be together was if they eloped. Would Amy be fine with such a drastic action, especially since it meant going against his large, rather powerful family?

oOoOo

It was just past dusk when Amy entered the cathedral. She would have come sooner, if it weren't for her shift at the green grocer's. One of the other workers had accidentally overturned a large crate of fruit onto the shop's floor and she felt obliged to stay behind and help them clean it up. Not to mention the usual clean-up to be done… It was half-an-hour before she was finally free to walk the distance to the cathedral, where she was to meet Lyell.

On the phone, Lyell had sounded… excited, and very nervous. Her breathing sped up at the recollection, and she forced her feet to move more quickly across the pavement. Could it be that Lyell planned to propose to her tonight? After over a year of dating, it would be all that she'd ever hoped for. She didn't care about his strange family or their strict set of rules, or the fact that they were so clearly against him wedding an unendowed girl like her. She loved him, all of him, from his joy and wicked sense of fun to the mesmerizing way he played his music, and she simply couldn't imagine her life without him.

Lyell met her just inside the cathedral space. He took her hand—it felt warm and slightly clammy in her own—and led her to a pew in the center of the cathedral space. There they sat, hand-in-hand and facing one another. Lyell's eyes were alive with a myriad of emotions, and his body fairly radiated nervousness and excitement. Amy's heart leapt to see it. Surely he could see the love and hope in her own eyes, because she could certainly feel those very emotions in her heart. _Please_ , she thought desperately. _Ask me! You know I'll say yes!_

For a long moment, there was a silence which was only filled with the hammering of Amy's heart. It felt so uncomfortably loud to her ears that she almost thought that Lyell could hear it from where he was sitting. She hoped that he couldn't. She didn't want him to see how anxious she was, how much she was waiting with bated breath for the question he surely meant to ask. After all, what if he didn't ask it? Then she'd look like a perfect fool.

In her heart of hearts, she prayed that he would. Lyell proposing to her was what she'd dreamed of from the moment she first realised that she loved him (and always would love him). There could be no one else for her who would make her feel as happy and _loved_ as she was when she was with Lyell. She couldn't imagine spending the rest of her life with anyone else. So she waited, and hoped.

Finally, Lyell spoke. 'Amy,' he said. 'Amy, I love you. You know that. Will you elope with me?'

 _What?_ Despite all of her mental preparation, his words stunned her into silence. She opened her mouth, and closed it again, unable to say a thing that wouldn't sound strangled. Elope? Them?

Seeing Lyell's eyes take on a worried look, she forced her lips and tongue to form coherent speech. She couldn't have him thinking that she would refuse him.

'I…' She swallowed hard, and bravely continued. 'I love you.' The words startled her. They weren't the ones she'd intended to say. But they would do, she supposed. 'I love you so much. And yes, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. But… eloping? Are you sure?'

'Completely,' Lyell assured her. 'My mother and aunts will never let us marry if we stay in the city. You know what they're like. The only way is to elope.'

She still didn't feel very reassured. There was bound to be a price to be paid if they ran off and got married behind the Yewbeams' backs. That family had so many rules and if you broke one of them, you paid dearly for it. In fact, doing something the Yewbeams didn't like was often enough to warrant 'punishment' in their eyes. They had already made it clear that they were not in favor of Lyell marrying Amy, and it was certain to Amy that what Lyell was suggesting would make his family members howl in anger.

'They will never forgive you if we elope together,' she said nervously. 'We'd be going against your entire family.'

'None of that matters to me,' Lyell said. There was a desperation in his eyes she'd never seen before. He gripped her hands tightly. 'Nothing matters more than the thought of not having you in my life. I love you. I _need_ you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and damn anyone who gets in our way.'

His words made her laugh, despite it all. 'Lyell, but what about your mother? Surely you can't go against your mother!' Even as she spoke the words, she knew that he could. He was certainly stubborn enough to. And after hearing from him how cruel and unfair his family could be, she couldn't blame him for wanting to escape from it in any way he could. But… Grizelda Bone was not anyone she'd willingly like to cross, and she would be _very_ cross if she heard news of her only son eloping with one of the unendowed. It almost made Amy shiver to think about it.

'I don't care,' Lyell said firmly. 'I love you. I want to marry you. I… _we_ … can endure whatever consequences they'd have in store for us when we get back. If… if you're willing?'

Now his voice took on a nervous quality, and Amy smiled to see it. Lyell was so rarely openly anxious that it was a surprise to see. And, she thought privately, quite endearing.

She squeezed his hand. 'Of course I am. You of all people should know that! Where should we go, then?' she added, not really caring in the least. Anywhere was fine with her, as long as they were together and far, far away from the Yewbeams.

'What about… Mexico?'

She blinked at him. 'Mexico?' It wasn't that she didn't like Mexico—in fact, it was one of the places she had wanted to visit since she was just a child—but it took her by surprise to hear Lyell suggest it.

Lyell grinned at her. 'Come on, I know you always wanted to go there… And it's the farthest we could get from my mother and aunts.'

That was very true. She couldn't help but smile at him. 'I would love to see the Emerald Coast...'

'And the Copper Canyon...'

Her smile widened. 'And La Paz. Both our mothers will have a fit when they find out!'

He laughed, but then sobered. Now that the decision had been made, the future he had envisioned with Amy felt more real—as did the price to be paid for it. Whatever happened next, he would never regret the choice he made tonight. Amy was (and always would be) the only woman he would ever love and the thought of spending even a moment of his life without her was inconceivable to him.

For a long time, they said nothing more, lost deep in thought about what they had chosen to undertake. The hands that connected them to each other felt like a lifeline, a promise of hope and safety. As long as they were together, they could do anything, be anything. No one, not even a powerful family such as the Yewbeams, could stop them.

Lyell was startled from his thoughts at the sound of the organ rising. Another organist had begun to play. He felt the touch of a hand on his arm and saw Amy smiling at him.

'Dance with me?' she asked, her eyes sparkling.

Lyell felt a wide grin spread across his face. Impulsively he kissed her cheek, and was delighted when she laughed. 'Certainly!'

She stood and pulled him to his feet, and soon they were waltzing to the music. Amy wasn't sure what it was—Strauss, maybe, or Mozart? Lyell would know, but she didn't want to interrupt this precious moment by querying him. They had all the time in the world now; she would ask him later.

When they had fallen back into the pew at the end of the piece, laughing breathlessly, Lyell found himself speaking again. 'I love you, Amy,' he said. 'I won't ever stop.'

'Neither will I,' Amy said, smiling wildly at him. 'I love you, too.'

She reached for him, and he held her in his arms and wondered briefly what the future would bring.


End file.
